Outside
by Virginia Lewis
Summary: Draco struggles with his destiny and love life. ((Chapter 1 uploaded! Read the PROLOGUE if you want to know what is going on!))
1. Prologue

Outside

Author's note: Hello! I just have a few things to tell you before you read. First, I am very happy that you're reading, and please review! Second, this fic stars Draco, and if you have something against him, don't flame me. I warned you. And third, this installment is rather depressing. It describes a Death Eater's gathering in gory detail, which involves some rather nasty stuff. So don't read if you are really weak and you can't take it. Either way, I hope you enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Outside

Prologue

It's hard to explain  
Inherently, it's just always been strange  
Neither here nor there  
Always somewhat out of place everywhere  
Ambiguous  
Without a sense of belonging to touch  
Somewhere halfway  
Feeling there's no one completely the same

Standing alone  
Eager to just believe  
It's good enough to be what you really are  
But in your heart  
Uncertainty forever lies  
And you'll always be  
Somewhere on the outside

Early on you face the realization  
You don't have a space  
Where you fit in  
And recognize you were born to exist

Standing alone  
Eager to just believe  
It's good enough to be what you really are  
But in your heart  
Uncertainty forever lies  
And you'll always be  
Somewhere on the outside

And it's hard  
And it's hard  
And it's hard

Irreversibly  
Falling in between  
And it's hard  
And it's hard  
To be understood  
As you are  
As you are

Oh, and God knows  
That you're standing on your own  
Blind and unguided  
Into a world divided  
You're thrown  
Where you're never quite the same  
Although you try  
Try and try  
To tell yourself you really are  
But in your heart  
Uncertainty forever lies  
And you'll always be  
Somewhere on the outside  
You'll always be  
Somewhere on the outside

            Draco looked out of the stained glass window in the library. Rain was pouring down in thick sheets over Hogwarts castle. _How nice, the last years of my life will be rainy_, he thought bitterly. A cold feeling of dread crept up from his stomach. He couldn't even concentrate on his studies without thinking about his unavoidable death. _Any day now, he could come right now and I couldn't stop him_, Draco's stomach was a freezing pit now.

            He was very familiar with this feeling of pure dread. He had felt it so often. When Lucius would beat him, when he was forced into Death Eater meetings, when he lost at a game of Quidditch and knew what his punishment from his father would be… and so many other times. But when he thought of his inevitable death he got an even worst feeling of cold, constricting fear. But there was no escaping.

           The memory of the day when he learned his fate was very clear in Draco's head. He would often lay down at night to sleep, but he was kept awake by the plaguing memory. And now, when he was studying for a Potions exam, the recollection of that fateful night replayed itself to him.

_"Daddy, why must I dress so nicely tonight?" a six-year-old Draco looked up at Lucius with inquiring gray eyes._

_"Tonight you learn your destiny, boy," Lucius said. "Now get dress in these robes, but don't drag them on the floor as you do so, because they must not be soiled at all." Lucius went out of the room, leaving a rather puzzled Draco behind. He raised one leg extremely high, trying to get his leg into the trousers without the trousers getting anywhere near the floor. When he finally accomplished this, he put the other leg in the same way, wobbling unbalanced as he tried to make his leg reach the trouser leg._

_Draco put the black button-up shirt on, then the long robe over it. The nearly tripped over the seam of it as he walked out of his bedroom and into the hallway._

_"Daddy! I got dressed!" Draco yelled down the hallway. Lucius came from around the corner and stopped to look Draco over. _

_"Good enough," Lucius shrugged. "Follow me." Draco scrambled after his father. "Now, tonight is when all of your lessons come into play. You must be ready for any attack. I don't think that Master will go hard on you, but you must be ready anyway." Draco nodded as he scuttled behind Lucius. _

_"Will your friends be there Daddy?" Draco asked. Lucius turned around and smacked Draco's face. _

_"You will call me Father!" he barked, and Draco nodded, red-eyed. "And yes, the other Death Eaters will be there. And you will call them ma'am or sir." Lucius said._

_"Okay Father, I will." Draco said. Lucius stopped in front of a door and threw it open. Inside was the ornately decorated ballroom, which was packed with Death Eaters that were drinking wine and chatting, some already dancing. An extremely plump woman was standing by the door drinking elegantly from a glass of wine and chatting with a knobby young man. The woman had a large and unsightly mole on her face, and she had a very hairy upper lip._

_"Oh, Lucius, is this your son? Why, he's just a darling!" the woman bent over and pinched Draco's cheek._

_"Erm… hello sir…" Draco said to the woman. Lucius coughed._

_"Draco, this is MISS Brumbly." Lucius said._

_"You're a WOMAN?!?" Draco gaped. Lucius looked rather embarrassed, but Miss Brumbly didn't seem to mind the fact that Draco couldn't believe she was a woman._

_"Awww, Lucius, he's such a dear! Would you mind if I borrowed him for a little while?" Miss Brumbly asked._

_"Oh, I wouldn't mind, I'll be around to get him in a hour." Lucius said, walking off. Miss Brumbly smiled at Draco._

_"Hello Drakie Wakie, would you like some fruit punch?" Miss Brumbly beamed, walking a little way to the refreshment table and ladled Draco some pink juice from a bowl into a tiny goblet. She handed Draco the goblet, and he drank the surprisingly good juice._

_Miss Brumbly absolutely tortured Draco for the next hour. She pinched his cheek every few minutes, and she asked him stupid questions like, "Does your daddy like your mother," "Do you think your daddy is interested in me," "Where is your daddy's room, anyway, I'd like to pay him a midnight visit one day," and "Don't you think that any man would have to be crazy to turn ME down?" Draco had just answered in a manner that he thought would please the odd woman. "Yes, my father absolutely adores you Miss Brumbly, he talks so much of your beauty."_

_Draco was very relieved when Lucius came to retrieve him. "It's time for you to dance with your date for tonight, Draco." Lucius said, waving to Miss Brumbly as Draco went to follow Lucius. Lucius led him to a very pretty little girl. "Draco, this is Lisa Villagio." Lucius said, and the girl smiled. _

_"Hello, Draco," she said as she stepped forward. Draco looked pleadingly at his father, but Lucius didn't notice. He was already walking off to who Draco recognized as Mrs. Villagio, while Mr. Villagio was nowhere in sight. _

_Lisa put her arms on Draco's shoulders, and he blushed rather red as he put his hands on her hips. Lucius had tutored him on ballroom dancing, and it came rather easy to Draco. He danced, still blushing, with the beautiful little girl for a few hours, and he rather liked her. _

_It seemed all too soon that the music slowed and the adults began to usher the children outside. They assembled on a plateau overlooking a vast forest that seemed to stretch on forever. The Death Eaters had formed a circle around a large circle made from rocks, and inside was the design of a skull with a snake protruding from its mouth, made from twigs. From the center of the circle, a large pole jutted from he dark soil. Draco, even though young, knew what had happened here many times before. He knew that every Friday night, Narcissa would tuck him in bed, dressed in stiff ceremonial Sabbath bedclothes for the children, and she would chant to him as he drifted off to sleep. She would chant the same chants that she would later recite with the other Death Eaters just beyond his bedroom window as they made their human sacrifices to the Dark Lord. And as Draco looked at the charred wooden pole, he could almost hear the screams of pain and terror that escaped the ones burning there._

_Draco could feel his heart beating out of his chest. He didn't quite know what was happening, but in the pit of his stomach he knew it wouldn't be good. _

_Lucius was a High Priest for the Death Eaters. Many of the meetings were held at the Manor, and the brutal rituals carried out on the plateau that they were now collected at. Lucius was dressed in dark robes, and he stood in the center of the ring of Death Eaters, just in front of the circle of rocks and wooden pole. Before him was a wooden altar which was ornately carved with snakes and the Dark Mark. A large leather bound book sat on the top, and Lucius carefully opened it to read from the first page._

_"Lord of the Snakes, I call to thee_

_You who are seldom seen be with me now_

_I call for the images of times long past_

_I ask for your presence at this place made sacred." Lucius read. He looked up from the book. "I am sure you all know why you and your children have been called here. This is the first meeting for many of these young children. The reason our Master called us here tonight is for him to choose an heir. He will rise again in glory, but when his time is over he will need a successor. Tonight our Lord will pick one of these children to be his beneficiary. Some he will spare tonight, but the rest will be sacrificed to our Master." Lucius said. Draco looked at his father. He couldn't see his face from under the hood, but he could feel Lucius's icy gaze on him. If he were chosen to be killed by Voldemort, his father would be deeply ashamed._

_"We will have the children come up in alphabetical order after the sacrificial ceremony. The children will be then hand selected by Voldemort. Now, may the sacrificial offering be taken up to the altar?" Lucius looked over the crowd to two dark cloaked men who had a woman by handcuffed arms. They lead her up to the altar, and then tied her to the charred wooden pole. She was screaming and thrashing about, but it was to no avail. Draco knew plainly well that Lucius would now take sadistic pleasure in inflicting pain in this poor woman. Draco had learned not to feel pity for the victims now, however. He used to sit up in his bed listening to the mournful cries of the sufferers. But now he could sleep peacefully through the rituals. And now he stood emotionless as Lucius cut the screaming woman's stomach and removed her intestines-while she was still alive. Lucius then let the woman bleed to death. When she was surely dead, he cut off her arms, legs, and head. He then pulled out all of her remaining intestines and stuffed the empty body with stones. The woman was then put in a bag to be later disposed of in a Muggle lake._

_Draco didn't know what to expect next. Lucius turned to the crowd._

_"And now I shall have each child call the Dark Lord up. The child who succeeds in summoning the Dark Lord shall be our Master's heir, and the great powers he possesses will one day be bestowed upon the child." Lucius said. _

_""Danga, Shannon." Went first. The others seemed to fly by. None of them succeeded in summoning Voldemort._

_"Caliciyya, Moushirou," "Clark, Sandra," and all the way to "Farense, Alicia,"  _

_"Malfoy, Draco." Draco stepped forward, not letting his extreme fear show. He was, of course, chilled to the bone with fear. But for a Malfoy to show fear… it was criminal; unforgivable. He went up to the huge cauldron, which was twice as wide as he was tall. Draco knew the summoning spell by heart, and he took the knife, cutting his wrist and letting his blood drip into the cauldron. _

_"Lord of the Snakes, I call to thee_

_You who are seldom seen be with me now_

_I call for the images of times long past_

_I ask for your presence at this place made sacred." He recited. Steam emitted from the cauldron, a reaction that none of the other children got. Draco shut his eyes tight, and he heard screams all around him_

_"It is the Dark Lord!"_

_"He has been summoned!"_

_"Summoned by a mere child!"_

_"A pale, weak, skinny child no less!"_

_"Today is the beginning of a new era in my reign. Today my heir is chosen, and his fate locked indubitably in stone." Voldemort said, his voice powdery and nonhuman. It had no trace of compassion or coldness; it had no realness to it, like air. _

_"A child has summoned me. A meager child has brought me to your midst. This child possesses great power. This child shall be my heir." Voldemort turned to Lucius. "Which child summoned me?" he said tonelessly. Lucius looked proud when he pointed to the quivering boy, his eyes covered by his clenched hands._

_"Draco Malfoy, my son."_

_ _

**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**

Well, that's it! Of course, being the prologue, it is shorter then the other chapters will be. I know, it's not exactly a…happy chapter… but I promise I'll have some humor in the next chapter. ^-^ Please review. Please? I love you? If you promise to review, Draco will perform for you. Ready?

**Draco:** Huh? 

**Virginia:** You're going to perform for the readers in hopes they will review.

**Draco:** I don't think so, Lewis. 

**Virginia:** Oh yeah? I think so. 

**Draco:** No way.

**Virginia:** ::Uses almighty AUTHOR POWER to make Draco appear in a hula girl outfit:: You WILL perform.

**Draco:** ::Strumming banjo:: LA COO COO RAAAAAA CHA! LA COO COO RAAAAAAA CHA! Dee dee dee dee dee dee dee! LA COO COO RAAAAAA CHA! LA COO COO RAAAAAAA CHA! Dee dee dee dee dee dee dee! 

**Virginia:** BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!! ::cough…sputter::

_ _

_ _


	2. Points of Authority

Points of Authority

**Author's Note:**'Ello 'Ello! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Oh, and please review! I never send chapters out of I don't get over five reviews. Thanks!

[**Note: Read the PROLOGUE if you want to understand what is going on!**]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Outside

It's hard to explain  
Inherently, it's just always been strange  
Neither here nor there  
Always somewhat out of place everywhere  
Ambiguous  
Without a sense of belonging to touch  
Somewhere halfway  
Feeling there's no one completely the same

Standing alone  
Eager to just believe  
It's good enough to be what you really are  
But in your heart  
Uncertainty forever lies  
And you'll always be  
Somewhere on the outside

Early on you face the realization  
You don't have a space  
Where you fit in  
And recognize you were born to exist

Standing alone  
Eager to just believe  
It's good enough to be what you really are  
But in your heart  
Uncertainty forever lies  
And you'll always be  
Somewhere on the outside

And it's hard  
And it's hard  
And it's hard

Irreversibly  
Falling in between  
And it's hard  
And it's hard  
To be understood  
As you are  
As you are

Oh, and God knows  
That you're standing on your own  
Blind and unguided  
Into a world divided  
You're thrown  
Where you're never quite the same  
Although you try  
Try and try  
To tell yourself you really are  
But in your heart  
Uncertainty forever lies  
And you'll always be  
Somewhere on the outside  
You'll always be  
Somewhere on the outside

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

**Chapter One: Points Of Authority**

Forfeit the game  
Before somebody else  
Takes you out of the frame  
And puts your name to shame  
Cover up your face  
You can't run the race  
The pace is too fast  
You just won't last  
  
You love the way I look at you  
While taking pleasure in the awful things you put me through  
You take away if I give in  
My life, my pride is broken  
  
You like to think you're never wrong  
You live what you've learned  
You have to act like you're someone  
You live what you've learned  
You want someone to hurt like you  
You live what you've learned  
You want to share what you've been through  
You live what you've learned  
  
You love the things I say I'll do  
The way I'll hurt myself again just to get back at you  
You take away when I give in  
My life, my pride is broken  
  
Forfeit the game  
Before somebody else  
Takes you out of the frame  
And puts your name to shame  
Cover up your face  
You can't run the race  
The pace is too fast  
You just won't last  
You just won't last 

Forfeit the game  
Before somebody else  
Takes you out of the frame  
And puts your name to shame  
Cover up your face  
You can't run the race  
The pace is too fast  
You just won't last

"Y

oung Master Malfoy! Sir! Please, it's time to wake up!" a shaky voice announced. Draco squinted one eye open and saw the house elf, shaking with fear, calling Draco to wake.

"Father sent you?" Draco asked drowsily.

"No, sir, Master is out already." The house elf stuttered.

"Damn. I had to ask him about the latest assignment he gave me." Draco buried his face in his pillow. "Did he leave me anything?"

"Yes, sir, Master left you a stack of work." The house elf sounded extremely uncomfortable.

"Ugh." Draco grunted weakly into his pillow. "You are dismissed." Draco said. The house elf trotted quickly away. Draco sighed and turned over. He was being terribly overworked, and it was only his first day of summer vacation. Draco already missed the Hogwarts halls where he was feared and respected. Here he was to be seen and not heard, and sometimes he wasn't even supposed to be seen. 

Draco slowly put his feet out from under the heavy blankets and onto the floor. A chill ran up his back. The stones were freezing, and Draco felt like he had just stepped onto ice. The entire Malfoy Manor was always freezing, no matter how hot it was outside. The stones seemed to seep cold air, and Draco always wore heavy black robes to keep warm. 

Draco quickly changed into his robes and straightened up his vanity. He put the parchment into a stack and put the quills into the ink well. He then went out into the hallway, following the familiar path to the Great Hall.

"Get me breakfast." Draco ordered a house elf. The house elf turned away from the vase of flowers it was attending to and bowed, then stumbled away to the kitchen. Draco sighed. At least some people here listened to him.

***

_Draco-_

_Read _Decoding Ancient Runes_ and _History of the Runes_. I will expect you to be able to turn in a fifty-page essay on Morte DeVitalizar and his study and decoding of the Ancient Runes. I also want you to write a ten-page essay on the Vampire Crisis in Norway. There is a pack of Daily Prophet clippings for you to read about the Vampire Crisis. Include how you propose to solve the Crisis and what you feel the Norwegian Magical Government is doing wrong. After you're done, I want you to pick one article from the Daily Prophet and write a five-page essay and summarization of it._

_If you haven't completed all of this by the time I get home, there will be consequences._

_-Lucius_

Draco scowled at the note Lucius had left him. "_There will be consequences_!" Draco mocked, making a face. He picked up _Decoding Ancient Runes_ and began to read. 

***

Draco finished his work with lots of extra time to spare. He knew that he had about seven hours before Lucius got home from his job at the Ministry. Draco grabbed his broom. _Might as well go to Hogsmeade_, Draco thought, _and get away from here for a while_.

Draco took his broom downstairs. "Tell Mother that I went to research Runes at the Prophet Library." Draco ordered a house elf. The house elf promptly scurried off towards the gardens, where Narcissa was working.

Draco went out the front door and kicked off. He soared high up into the clouds. He liked flying. He felt like he was leaving Lucius, Voldemort, and all his other problems down on the ground. It was a much-needed escape for Draco.

He landed gracefully in Hogsmeade. He had been to Hogsmeade so many times that he knew the place as well as he knew the back of his hand. Draco went down one of the gravel streets, looking thoughtfully at the buildings. He figured he'd go into the Three Broomsticks first, and then work his way down to the Quidditch shop. 

Draco went into the cozy pub. He sat down at a booth by himself. He was hoping no one would come by who worked at the Ministry. Lucius wouldn't be happy if he found out. He would much rather see Draco studying his Dark Arts then "mingle with common scum," as Lucius would say. 

"Can I help you, sir?" a fat wench asked Draco. 

"Yeah… I'll have a Butterbeer, please." Draco said.

"Coming right up, sir." The wench said, wobbling off.

Draco sat with his face towards the table, hoping his silver hair would cover his face well enough that no one would notice him.

The wench came back with Draco's Butterbeer very quickly. He sipped it tiredly. He didn't want to go back home to the Manor, but he new Lucius would find him anyway. Draco looked around. Half the people in the pub were probably spies for Lucius. Draco smirked and returned to his Butterbeer. 

Of course half the pub weren't spies for Lucius. But the truth was that no matter where Draco went, Lucius would find out. Lucius would probably find out that Draco had been to The Three Broomsticks, too. There was no escaping Lucius. He knew every move Draco made and every word he said. And that's the way it had always been.

"Draco Malfoy, is that you?" Draco heard an aristocratic voice ask. He looked up to see one person he really could have done without seeing that day.

"Oh, hello Professor…" Draco said unsurely as Hogwarts professor Severus Snape slid into the booth across from Draco.

"How has your summer vacation been so far?" Snape asked.

"It's been… good." Draco lied.

"That's nice to hear." Snape smiled. "How's Lucius? Narcissa?"

_Like you care_, Draco thought. He knew that Snape was aware of the fact that Lucius hated him ever since he turned away from the Death Eaters. But Snape had always shone a certain interest in Narcissa. "Father is fine, and so is Mother." Draco said.

"That's good. Oh, I have the most exciting news!" Snape said. 

_Wow, maybe he discovered the shower_, Draco thought. "Hmm?" 

"Well I got a order approved for 500 dozen Pilatous Pintouferous, which is a strong herbal liquid that strengthens potions! Your class will be able to use it next year." Snape said happily. 

_What a loser. He has no one to hang out with so he hangs out with one of his students_, Draco thought. "Ooo, that's delightful." Draco said tonelessly. 

"It is, isn't it? I'm thrilled about it. It's very hard to get." Snape smiled. 

_Loser, loser, loser…_ Draco thought as Snape carried on. Draco let his mind drift off.

_"Who do you respect above all other living and non-living things? Who do you bow before? Who do you die for?"_

_"Voldemort…"_

_"Who is the all ruling Master, who you will never turn you back from?"_

_"Voldemort…"_

_"Who will you obey no matter what the cost?"_

_"Voldemort…"_

_"Who's call will you answer when he is in need?"_

_"Voldemort…"_

_"Who is the one you were born to serve and will die serving?"_

_"Voldemort…"_

_"What is your name?"_

_"Draco Malfoy."_

_"Who do you serve?"_

_"Voldemort."_

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_I'm not enough… I'll never be enough for Father. I will never amount to anything, and I will bring shame to the Malfoy Family line. I will be the one who ruins everything. If I don't be careful, I'll even ruin it for all the Death Eaters. I'll stunt the growth of the Dark Side with my inanity…_

"Draco?" Snape said. This snapped Draco back into reality. He had been thinking about his Death Eater vows and his worries while Snape went on about Pilatous Pintouferous. Draco had completely lost track of time. He looked at his silver Muggle watch that he wore every day but hid from Lucius. It was 6:15 PM; over two hours after Lucius had gotten home from work. Draco choked a little. Lucius would not be happy at all.

"Oh… Professor, I have to go. See you around." Draco said, running out the door and kicking off into the sky on his broomstick.

***

"DRACO!!!!! WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?!?" Lucius boomed the second Draco walked in the front door. 

"I was at the Prophet Libraries…" Draco lied.

"HOW DARE YOU LIE TO ME? YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU'VE BEEN? I KNOW EVERYTHING YOU DO! TELL ME THE TRUTH!" Lucius demanded.

"I was at The Three Broomsticks…" Draco said.

"FOR NINE HOURS?" Lucius screeched.

"…I was talking to someone." Draco said quietly. He didn't want to say that it was Snape he was talking to. Lucius was already angry enough.

"WHO?" Draco knew Lucius would ask this, but he was hoping he wouldn't.

"…With a professor from Hogwarts." Draco whispered, but Lucius's sharp ears still picked it up.

"WHICH ONE?" Draco felt his stomach fly away. He knew Lucius would keep interrogating until he had all the facts, all the way down to every word said in the conversation. But Draco wasn't going to give him his information easily.

"Professor Snape." Draco said, and cringed under Lucius's outburst. Lucius hit Draco hard on his head.

"ARE YOU STUPID? HE TURNED HIS BACK ON OUR MASTER! YOU ARE FORBIDDEN TO TALK TO THAT BLOODY TRAITOR!" Lucius yelled, granting Draco a few more forceful blows on his head.

"I-I'm sorry! I wasn't listening to what he was saying, anyway! Father, I was thinking about my studies! I'm sorry!" Draco pleaded as Lucius hit Draco repeatedly. Draco had come so accustomed to the beatings that he could stand it a lot more. It hurt like hell, but Draco could stand there and take it.

"You listen to everything I say! That's what you do! You know who you are, don't you? You know you are the heir of Voldemort! You have to learn how to be disciplined! I am your Master, along with Voldemort! You will do well to remember it! When I tell you to do something, you will listen!"

"Yes, Father!"

"You respect your Masters above all other living and non-living things! You bow before us! You die for us!"

"Yes, Father!"

"To you we are all-ruling, and you will never turn your back to us!"

"Yes, Father!"

"You will obey us no matter what the cost!"

"Yes, Father!"

"Our call you will answer when we are in need!"

"Yes, Father!"

"And you will _die_ serving us." Lucius said, grabbing Draco by the collar of his robes and pushing him backwards into the wall. Draco's head hit the wall and he was knocked unconscious. 

Lucius smirked. _Learned your lesson, have you?_

***

"Oww…" Draco moaned, opening his eyes. Morning light stung his eyes, and he closed them back up. He had a splitting headache.

"Good morning, Draco." Draco froze when he heard the voice of his father. He knew that tone. It meant he was angry and Draco was going to get hurt for it.

"Oh… good morning, Father." Draco said, opening his eyes.

"Do you remember what happened last night?" Lucius asked.

"…Not really." Draco said. In truth, he really couldn't remember much after getting home. He did know that he got a bad beating, though. 

"Do you need a reminder? I'll be happy to re-enact the scene for you." Lucius said, pulling Draco out of bed by the collar of his robes.

"No, no!" Draco pleaded as Lucius began to beat him over the head. When Draco had a nosebleed and was bleeding from several places on his head, Lucius threw him back into the vanity. The mirror shattered to a million pieces and Draco hit it. He could feel the bits digging into his skin, burying themselves deep in his flesh. It was the last thing he felt before he blacked out again.

***

Draco felt like someone had chopped his head in half. His headache was so bad it was crippling. He felt little pings all over his back and arms. It took him a few seconds to realize that it was the glass from his mirror stuck in him. Draco opened his eyes and looked around. He was still lying in a mess of broken glass and wood from the vanity. Draco looked at his arms. He could see the glass sticking out from the cuts, and it made him sick. He could perfectly well stand seeing other people getting legs and arms cut off, but seeing his own blood scared him to bits.

Draco was remembering all the times something like this had happened…

_A seven-year-old Draco awoke sleepily. He could hear the entire Malfoy Manor was silent. No one else was awake besides Draco. He had gotten a good beating the other night, and all he wanted to do was make Lucius happy. _

_He snuck downstairs into the kitchen. He wanted to make Lucius the best breakfast he had ever had. But Draco was only seven, and not much of a cook at all. He took out some pots, pans, and pancake mix. Draco poured all of the mix into a pan and put it over the stove, without even bothering to light the stove because he didn't know how to. He poured in all kinds of other things like salt and pepper, and whatever else he could find that looked like it might be in pancakes._

_Draco put the runny mess on a large plate, then cracked two eggs and put the gooey liquid onto the plate. Draco poured a glass of orange juice, but he spit some on the floor in the process. The kitchen was a mess by then. Draco was proud of his dish, though. He paraded upstairs and into Lucius's bedroom._

_"Daddy! Daddy! Wake up! I made you a yummy breakfast!" Draco shouted, smiling proudly as he held the plate that was dripping messy eggs and the pancake-concoction onto the floor. Lucius sleepily looked at Draco. Automatically, Draco could see a violent light flash through Lucius's eyes. Draco dropped the plate. He knew he was going to get a beating, thought he really couldn't think of why._

_Lucius leaped out of the bed and hit Draco backwards. Draco stumbled and fell, crying. Lucius kicked him forcefully, and then picked him up by the collar his robes. Draco shrieked. Lucius stood Draco back up and started to repeatedly smack his face. Draco was crying and screaming._

_"WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU DO SUCH A THING?!" Lucius yelled. Draco, cringing under Lucius's repeated blows, pleaded with his father._

_"I'm sorry, Daddy! I'm sorry! I wanted to make you a nice breakfast!" Draco wept. Lucius took no remorse and continued to hit Draco until the little boy went out cold._

_ _

Draco scowled at this memory. He scowled at all the other times that were running through his head that had an ending of him pleading for Lucius's forgiveness. 

_Next time I won't say a word, and he won't get any satisfaction out of it_, Draco thought.

Draco tried to stand, but he found that he couldn't. Draco gingerly gazed down at his leg. He vaguely remembered a snapping sound when that leg had hit the wall.

"Damn," Draco said, "that bastard broke my leg." 

Draco looked in disdain at his dresser across the room. His wand was ever so conveniently placed out of his reach. Draco cursed out Lucius under his breath.

Draco knew that he was going to have to wait until Lucius got around to coming up to his room to get healed. He'd have to lay there with glass digging into his flesh and the extreme pain of a broken leg for quite some time until Lucius decided to come up.

Draco often fell into such a situation. He often was at the mercy of Lucius. Draco found it hard to count the times something like this had happened. Lucius was like Draco's master, and Lucius rarely decided not to practice this right. Draco feared Lucius more then anything; more then even Lord Voldemort. 

It was something Draco had come accustomed to. He hated Lucius, but he knew Lucius better then he knew himself. He knew that when he spoke to Lucius, he had to keep a flat, dead tone to his voice. He couldn't use expression because it was the way that Draco said something that would through Lucius into a violent fit. He also knew that he should never look noble in front of Lucius. That was a sure-fire way to get a real bad beating.

Draco knew the rules, both written and unwritten. But he knew that the most important rule was that Lucius and Voldemort were the top. Draco was below them in everything, and Draco knew that everything they said was law. Those were the points of authority.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A little short, I know. But since it's a starting chapter, it's going to be short. So will the next few. When there is more action, I'll make them longer. ^-^ Love ya!

And I am very aware of the boring-ness of that chapter. I will try to make it more interesting next time ^-^

**Next Chapter:** Draco delivers the smackdown, some deadly creatures; white silk dresses, a talking cat, faeries with a serious horn for Draco, and togas. Yes, togas. Why not?

**Virginia:** Draaaco! Oh Draaaaaaaaco!

**Draco:** ::is scared to ask:: W-what?

**Virginia:** Won't you please say thank you to our reviewers?

**Draco:** That's it? Okay. Thanks so much to Dark Crystal, =Skade=, Portia, MuShRoOm, *Altra*, Seagull Laridae, ZONKOFRED (Yeh, Jill, Ginny _will _be in it sooner or later ^-^), ProfLupin (reviewing twice, eh, Talya? Well I know the second one is for the other chapter that I took out, so… ^-^) Ayla Pascal, Meghan~Jinx, Stephie, *sparkliez*, Angel, Dauphin, Nagh, and Demon. You guys are great! 

**Virginia:** Thanks, Draco! Now you will dance. Um… ballet this time!

**Draco:** I don't think so…

**Virginia:** Oh yeh? That's funny, because I think so. ::Draco appears in tight pink leotard and tutu.::

**Draco:** ::dancing around merrily:: I _hate_ you, Lewis!

**Virginia:** No you don't! You love me!

J REVIEW PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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